Chief Elephant: Coach Allister Coetzee

Griquas, the Falcons and the Eagles are tied at the top of the standings on 18 points, with the Boland Cavaliers and the Leopards just four points behind.

All five of these sides still have a realistic chance of joining the big six - the Blue Bulls, the Lions, the Sharks, Western Province, the Free State Cheetahs and the Pumas - in the Premier Currie Cup.

The Mighty Elephants, who scored a fine 41-22 win over the Griffons on Saturday, are on 13 points and not out of it altogether, with the Bulldogs, who are on 12 points, also still in with an outside chance.

On Friday, Griquas, the Falcons and the Eagles scored important victories in Round Five to edge ahead of their rivals, but they are by no means clear or safe.

Scores and scorers:

Friday:

Griquas 44 Leopards 31

Griquas bounced back from an unsatisfactory first-half performance to score 25 points after the break and beat the Leopards in their qualifying match in Kimberley on Friday.

The Leopards, who held a 28-19 lead at half-time, managed just three points - a penalty from the boot of fly-half Quinton van Tonder - to show for their second-half performance.

The match produced lots of excitement and 10 great tries. But there was a sour note to the match, with referee Andy Turner showing yellow cards to three players in the dying minutes - Griquas' Lodie van Staden and Jannie Bornman, as well as the Leopards' Michael Laubscher.

They were involved in a fracas, following a ruthless tackle by Van Staden on Leopards fly-half Boeta Wessels.

The scorers:

For Griquas:
Tries: Van der Walt, Durandt, Nicholas 2, Lloyd, Grobbelaar
Cons: Van Tonder 4
Pens: Van Tonder 2

For the Leopards:
Tries: De Waal, Joka, Strydom, Saayman
Cons: De Waal 4
Pen: De Waal

Eagles 42 Bulldogs 35

The Eagles had to withstand a powerful second-half surge by the Bulldogs, but managed to hold on for a vital win in George on Friday.

However, it was not a match either team would like to remember for a long time, especially not for the standard of rugby it produced. The 10 tries that were scored were rather an indication of the poor standard of defence, rather than being a suggestion of creative play.

There was, particularly in the first half, far too much aimless kicking and very little constructive play.

The scorers:

For the Eagles:
Tries: Floors 2, Plaatjies 2, Coeries, Fortuin
Cons: Van As 3
Pens: Van As 2

For the Bulldogs:
Tries: Mangweni 2, Hendry, Ndungane
Cons: Mangweni 3
Pens: Wright 3

Falcons 35 Boland Cavaliers 34

The scoreline says it all. Close and exciting it certainly was. It was one of those matches where the quality of play rather took a backseat to the excitement of the moment, with the lead changing hands several times.

But in the overall analysis, the Falcons will realise that sub-standard defence almost cost them the chance to win and rob them of a place among the leaders.

The Falcons managed went into a 20-3 lead, with the Cavaliers coming back to level the scores at 20-20 - which was also the half-time score. They then managed to open another big gap, at 35-20 as the game went into the final 10 minutes, before the Cavaliers again stormed back, almost securing a win.

The scorers:

For the Falcons:
Tries: Niewenhuis, Cloete 2, Douw
Cons: Jacobs 3
Pens: Jacobs 2
DG: Esterhuysen

For the Boland:
Tries: Goosen, Nass, Burke, Verhoeven
Cons: Goosen 2, Verhoeven 2
Pens: Goosen 2

Saturday:

Mighty Elephants 41 Griffons 22

The Elephants earned a valuable bonus point when they scored a well-deserved 41-22 win over the Griffons on Saturday. The game was a curtain-raiser to the Test between the Springboks and Argentina in Port Elizabeth

While the win and bonus point kept alive the Elephants' hopes of a place in the Currie Cup competition, the quality of the rugby was poor and often very scrappy.

The Elephants must now win their remaining two matches, against the Border Bulldogs and the Leopards, and hope one or two other matches go their way if they are going to join the big guns in South Africa's premier domestic competition.

The Griffons were never really a threat to the Elephants, but they tried gamely to add to the spectator value. However, their efforts were in vain as the Elephants dominated territory and possession throughout.

The scorers:

For the Elephants:
Tries: Wakeling 2, Juries, Pringle, Bennett, Alcock
Cons: Peach 3, Hennessey
Pen: Peach

For the Griffons:
Tries: Hanekom, Louw, Binneman
Cons: Strydom, Tabuer
Pen: Strydom